1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to infrared imaging and, more particularly, to diagnostic infrared imaging.
2. Description of Related Art
Heretofore, infrared imaging, sometimes referred to as thermal imaging, has been utilized for non-destructive testing of materials such as printed circuit boards and turbine blades. Application of infrared imaging in medical diagnosis has been limited largely because of inadequate equipment and lack of a general theory relating to the radiation of infrared energy by living animals to the underlying physiological processes responsible for such radiation.
Early use of infrared imaging depended upon detectors that lacked sufficient resolution to be of sufficient and reliable value for medical diagnosis. Notwithstanding improvements in infrared detector technology, the use of infrared imaging cameras to detect fine variations in the surface temperature of a body does not produce data having sufficient information for effective medical diagnosis.
It would, therefore, be desirable to provide an infrared imaging system and a method of using such an infrared imaging system to detect changes in the character of infrared radiation emitted from a body subject to thermal stress, and to obtain diagnostic information about the physiological function of the body from the response of such body to thermal stress. It would also be desirable to provide an infrared imaging system which can stereoscopically observe and analyze infrared radiation emanating from a body.